Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 2-2-18

The History Of Baseball
loss record of 194-112, with a 3.51 ERA, and 2,293 strikeouts. Gooden retired in 2001 after he was cut by the Yan- kees in spring training, ending his career with a record of 194–112. More than half of those wins came before age 25. Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of
Fame in 2010.
Gooden, a Hall of Fame candidate, dominated baseball during his era.
GARY SHEFFIELD
Gary Antonian Sheffield was born on No- vember 18, 1968. The nephew of Dwight Gooden, he also played for the Belmont Heights Little League.
Sheffield was a first- round pick of the Milwaukee
Brewers, who selected him sixth overall in the 1986 ama- teur draft after a standout prep career at Hillsborough High School.
He played with eight major league teams during his career that spanned from 1988 to 2oo9.
For most of his career, Sheffield played right field, although he was capable of playing left field, third base, and shortstop.
He played for the Milwau- kee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and the New York Mets.
Sheffield hit his 500th home run on April 17, 2009.
At the close of his last game, Sheffield ranked sec- ond among all-active players in walks, (1,475); in runs, (1,636); fourth in RBIs (1,636); fifth in hits, (2,689); in homeruns, (509); and sixth in hit by pitches (135).
Sheffield’s batting swing was an exemplary mix of speed and control. Despite his high home run total, Sheffield only topped 80
strikeouts twice in 22 seasons, while finishing his career among the all-time top 20 walks leaders.
Sheffield did not play in 2010. He announced his re- tirement at the beginning of 2011 Spring Training.
Sheffield, a Hall of Fame candidate, is considered one of the most feared batters in Major League Baseball.
CARL EVERETT, III
An athlete in in football, baseball, and track, Carl Ed- ward Everett, III, was born June 3, 1971, in Tampa. He at- tended the public schools of Hillsborough County. He graduated from Hillsborough High School, where he lettered in all three sports.
In football, he garnered
948 rushing yards as a senior in 1990.
He was the 10th overall pick in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the New York Yankees. He was selected by the Florida Marlins in 1992 in the MLB expansion draft, and made his major league debut with the Marlins on July 1, 1993.
Everett was traded to the Mets after the 1994 season for Quilvio Veras. He had his first full season in 1997 with 443 at-bats. He hit .248 that season with a .420 slugging percentage.
After the 1997 season, Everett was traded to the Houston Astros for John Hudek. He hit .325 with 27 stolen bases in 1999. That year, his .571 slugging percent- agewasinthetop10inthe league.
Everett had a career high 34 homeruns in 2000.
He struggled in 2001, with a shoulder injury. On Septem- ber 2, 2001, Everett came into the game as a pinch hitter and broke up a potential per- fect game by Mike Mussina, of the New York Yankees.
Mussina had retired the
first 26 Boston Red Sox and gotten two strikes on Everett before he hit a soft single to left center.
The following December, Everett was traded to the Texas Rangers for Darren Oliver. His nine homeruns in April 2003 matched a team record that was shared (through 2008) with Ivan Rodriguez, (2000), Alex Rodriguez, (2002), and Ian Kinsler, (2007).
After a series of trades, Everett won his first and only World Series championship with the White Sox in October 2005. Everett stepped in as the starting DH for most of that season for the White Sox after an early season injury to Frank Thomas.
The majority of the time, he was a designated hitter and very rarely played the field, backing up the corner outfield positions. He played in 92 games before the Mariners designated Everett for as- signment on July 26, 2006, ef- fectively ending his tenure with the Mariners organiza- tion.
In 2007, he hit .312 with 25 home runs and 97 RBI. In
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